Why is UK in the Grip of an "Uncontrollable" Bamboo Crisis? | Vantage with Palki Sharma

our last story tonight is about bamboo it's a valuable plant it can stabilize steep slopes and cut erosion it can be burned for fuel eaten as food or turned into Furniture bamboo is reliable and versatile but in the UK it is a nuisance more than a century ago bamboos were imported to Britain as exotic ornamental Treasures but today the same Treasures are causing trouble for the Britains alien shoots arising from the soil punching through plaster walls colonizing the floor beds and leaving people with legal disputes and Hefty bills so how did it get so bad can Britain win this fight against the invasive species here's a report about a decade ago when British homeowner Steven Neville planted bamboo in his garden he didn't know the monster he was creating nville only intended to divide his fence but as the plant grew it did so much more the Bamboo's tendrils snaked their way through the garden into his patio and even his neighbor's lawn in 2022 when Neville returned after a family holiday he saw this the plant had invaded his kitchen as well it was growing out of his oven nowhere seemed off limits for this bizarre bamboo and Neville was left with no choice but to spend £6,000 to get rid of the plant completely that's about $7,600 and Neville is hardly the only one left Bamboozled bamboos have become a growing problem for the UK they are striking fear into the hearts of homeowners punching through plaster walls Rising like Spears from the soil and shooting up from asphalt these alien shoots are not just horrifying they're leaving many with astonishing bills or bitter disputes with their neighbors but before we discuss this let's get to the root of the bamboo problem how did it start the tale begins more than a century ago when bamboos were imported to the UK as exotic ornamental Treasures by the late 199 they were in Peak fashion thanks to television the problem is there are about 1,600 species of bamboo but due to a dir of awareness the wrong invasive species were imported then planted clumsily soon they were dominating any plant life they encountered and they only got tougher they adapted quickly even to climate change warmer soil only boosted their growth and soon enough bamboos were multiplying rapidly and turning into a headache for the British most Britain were caught off guard according to a survey about 1/5 of Britain have bamboo or Liv next to someone who has it but 71% of the Britains are not aware that bamboo can cause damage 84% don't know that it can prompt legal battles now legally speaking there are no restrictions on planting bamboo there are no legal requirements to declare its presence while selling a house either because bamboo is not legally classified as an invasive species in Britain unlike let's say Japanese knotweed yet many say that bamboo is the new knotweed and it's leaving people in knots when bamboo damages or encroaches on a neighbor's land this could be grounds for legal proceedings plus the damage can be costly in 2019 destroying a vast web of bamboo Roots cost a homeowner more than a 100,000 or $127,000 so if you're planning to get a bamboo do your research understand the kind of bamboo you want ideally it'll be the clumping bamboos which tend to grow upwards instead of the running bamboos these are best avoided their roots grow horizontally and colonize the ground creating their own little Forest that being said for now people are being urged to avoid planting bamboo altogether the British hope that this solves their colonizing bamboo crisis after all for once they are paying a heavy price for taking what doesn't belong to them first post reports from the world's second largest continent hello I'm Allison lrange a very warm welcome from Durban South Africa we get you the news and the newsmakers from Africa from elections to climate change to Innovations and opportunities as the world's attention shifts we report from Africa the heart of the global South join me every weekday live on first post [Music]

Channel: Firstpost

Views: 56,616

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Id: 5E8Mnr3Qx14

Length: 6min 4sec (364 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 11 2024